Such a rubber crawler which is guided around two toothed wheels is already known from EP-A1-0490829 in which a rubber belt is disclosed comprising different metal links on regular distances with respect to each other for driving a vehicle, which support the weight of the vehicle and which are provided extending parallel to each other in transversal direction of the rubber belt. The metal links guide supporting rollers which are provided between the two toothed wheels. The metal links comprise a base in which the center is provided with a sprocket to which the toothed wheels can grasp. A wing is provided on opposing sides of the sprocket in a lateral direction extending in the lateral direction of the rubber belt. The wings are embedded in the rubber of the of the rubber belt. First and second protrusions extend in a height direction with respect to the base and are not embedded in the rubber. Each protrusion comprises a first and a second running surface element which extends in a longitudinal direction of the rubber crawler such that the first running surface elements are located on one side of the metal link and the second running surface elements are located on an opposing side of the metal link and in which the second running surface element is mounted shifted in longitudinal and the lateral direction of the rubber belt with respect to the first running surface element. The first protrusion comprises a first upper surface and the second protrusion comprises a second upper surface, in which the upper surfaces form a running surface for guiding the supporting rollers. The first and the second running surface elements of the respective first and second protrusions of adjacent metal links at least partially lie next to each other such that the running surface elements of adjacent metal links overlap at least partially in the longitudinal direction of the rubber crawler creating a common surface in the longitudinal direction of the rubber crawler in which the respective first and second running surface elements of the different metal links extend in line. The shift in the lateral direction of the first running surface elements with respect to the second running surface elements is for each protrusion such that the first running surface elements of a metal link are held between the second running surface element of an adjacent metal link, mutually anchoring the metal links. The protrusions in a side view have a trapezoidal shape with a narrow underside at the sprocket and a broad upperside for supporting the supporting rollers.
The rubber band described in EP-A1-0490829 however has the disadvantage that the overlap in the longitudinal direction of the crawler of the adjacent metal links is insufficient to guarantee a continuous mutual anchoring. When the rubber belt is driven over a local elevation, such as a stone or a step, the adjacent first and second running surface elements are moved away from each other, reducing the overlap. This has as a consequence that the overlap becomes too small for the second running surfaces to hold the first running surfaces causing the possibility for the first running surfaces to break out their mutual anchored configuration. The rubber belt in other words detracks causing the rubber belt to deform and making it unusable. The metal links can hereby become seriously damaged.